Embattled International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch abruptly left the Sydney Games to be at the side of his gravely ill wife – but she died in Spain while he was en route, officials said.

Maria Teresa Salisachs-Rowe had been suffering from cancer, and died at noon yesterday, an IOC spokesman said. She was 67.

“She was not an IOC member, but she was a very close friend to all of us,” said Pal Schmitt, an IOC member from Hungary. “She was like the first lady of the IOC.”

Samaranch, 80, will step down next July after 21 years as IOC president. He and his wife were married for more than 40 years and have two children, Maria Teresa and Juan Antonio.

Samaranch became the focal point of the biggest scandal in IOC history – bribery of officials stemming from Salt Lake City’s winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games.